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Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce has warned that the economic recovery will be put at risk if more local authorities follow Nottingham in charging motorists to park at work, after councils were ordered by government to find new ways of raising money.

It had been thought plans for Workplace Parking Levies would be abandoned after ministers declared an end to the "war on motorists" within days of the formation of the coalition government.

However, media reports today suggest that a number of local authorities across the UK, including councils in Bristol, York, Devon, Hampshire, Leeds, Bournemouth, South Somerset and Wiltshire, are actively examining a possible introduction of the charge in order to raise funds.

Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has said that councils need to start finding other ways to increase revenue, in the face of the biggest cash squeeze in a generation.

It is thought that Town Hall officials are considering taking a similar approach to Nottingham City Council, which will become the first local authority in the UK to impose a £250 levy on local employers from 2012. Within two years, the bill will rise to £350 and will target all companies with 11 or more parking spaces.

Whilst Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber fully supports the planned extensions to Nottingham's tram netwrok, it has long campaigned against a Workplace Parking Levy in Nottingham to fund it, and will continue to oppose it locally.  

George Cowcher, Chief Executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber, said: "The Workplace Parking Levy legislation was introduced primarily as a way of enabling local authorities to tackle congestion and cut carbon emissions. However, the Chamber has always been concerned that it would be seen as a way of generating extra revenue.

"Nottingham's businesses will be the first in line to be affected, placing them at a disadvantage at a time when many are struggling. Government has said it wants to put the private sector at the heart of the economic recovery, so it must recognise the financial burdens businesses are already under and rule out the possibility of more councils taking up the scheme. Allowing more schemes to go ahead could damage the economic recovery."